Farm Chef recipe: Peaches poached in white wine and vanilla

Summer fruit can be just as exciting at the end of the summer as the beginning, as you snap up the last of the summer crops before they disappear for another year.

The sweet smell of peaches and nectarines from our fruit bowl is one of the great summer fragrances, so to have it floating around the kitchen as you poach them in wine is fabulous. The scent and colour of summer eked out to the last. You can replace nectarines with plums, if you have them in the garden or can source local ones from a neighbour or farmers’ market.

Serves 4Preparation time 5 minutesCooking time 30 minues

Ingredients

4 peaches

550ml dry white wine

100g caster sugar

200ml water

1 tsp vanilla extract or a scraped vanilla pod

Poppy seeds to sprinkle on top

Method

Make a small cross through the skin on the bottom of the peach. Place the sugar and water in a saucepan on a high heat until the sugar has melted and the syrup is bubbling away.

Add the white wine and bubble for a minute or two, then add the peaches and the vanilla. If they aren’t covered, add a bit more water to cover. Poach on a simmer for 20 minutes, they should be soft to the stone when tested with a skewer.

Remove the peaches from the pan, and when cooled slightly, remove the skins which should peel off easily.

Turn the heat up on the pan and reduce the sauce to a medium to thick consistency.

Check the flavour and add either sugar if it isn’t sweet enough, or a dash of lemon juice if it is too sweet.

If you over-reduce the sauce, add some more water and heat through. Serve with ice cream, and add a sable biscuit or a Scotch pancake for some base, sprinkle on some poppy seeds to serve.